I've had a few piece of long glass over the years and I've always appreciated the hard trunks to take the 300+ 2.8 and beyond in the trunk to shoot. Or when traveling.

They now give us a small black sack made of flammable nylon and velcro to haul $5,000.00 around inside.. I can see the costs saving for them, I don't see how it's doing us any favors. I ask this question as I've just received my first Barbie dollhouse lens bag from Nikon and I'm just not feel'in the love here anymore...

I have soft case for my 300 2.8 and both the trunk and soft case for my 500 f4. Gotta say I like/use the soft cases much more. Easier to transport with and you can have a body attached when using the soft cases. The trunks are great for shipping but how often do you do that.

Seriously, I usually keep my long lenses in a rolling case with multiple pieces of gear. I have some big Think Tank case right now that keeps the 600mm - and pretty much the rest of my gear - all in one place. Anytime I'm about to use the lens though, it's out and mounted to a tripod in my truck - no case.

I never liked the trunks and never used them - I feel like it's too obvious a target for thieves.

Keeping in mind, Nikon has to supply 'something' to house the glass. That being said. Do you feel that Nylon bag is the equivalent to what we used to get as part of our purchase?

So clearly no. Hell, even if you wanted to use it as a novelty item it has more value than this black sack.

Their manufacturing costs have fallen, we still pay higher prices for the glass. And then end up buying ThinkTank, TENBA.. whatever to carry them. Whether you felt the hard cases were some sort of target or not. They worked. I dropped them down 35 step escalators... tumbling away, only to find my gear in 100% working order. You wouldn't get away with a fall like that with this nylon sack.

For all reasons other than practical, I *much* prefer the hard case. In reality, for moving around I'm already handling a Pelican 1510 and at least two tripods - and since I'm by myself most of the time, with the nylon case I can at least sling it over one shoulder and still manage. So I had to begrudge my vote to the nylon case.

I have absolutely no use for the trunk my 400mm came in. Prefer a nice, well padded soft case that allows body attached.

Other than that, if I wanted a hard case, I'd get a Pelican or similar. Much better made, better padded for impacts, and much more water resistant. you can also customize the foam inside for filters, accessories, etc., and usually much nicer to carry and lug around than the factory trunk. Also doesn't scream "EXPENSIVE CAMERA EQUIPMENT" like a golden box with NIKON across the face.